


One Note At A Time

by Karumasa



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: Cute, Fluff, Friday (marvel) - Freeform, Kissing, M/M, Minor appearances of other Characters - Freeform, Not Beta Read, Sassy FRIDAY, Swearing, Tony Feels, Tony Stark Has A Heart, We Die Like Men, but i wanted to post this on time, everyone has off days, i barely finished this before my first class today, she's having none of tony's shit, tony's kind of an idiot but its ok
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-14
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-10-28 07:30:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,658
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17783183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Karumasa/pseuds/Karumasa
Summary: When little blue notes start appearing, Tony is rightly confused and a little worried. At least at first.





	One Note At A Time

**Author's Note:**

> i was gonna throw this in my shenanagin's series but since peter is rarely shown i decided not to
> 
> i still thought the idea was cute. so even if the ending isn't my favorite, i hope y'all still enjoy this mess

Tony glared down at the blue sticky note that adorned one of the tables in his workshop, the message on it mocking him.

_‘Would you play a game with me?’_

It sounded like something out of a horror movie and Tony didn’t trust that shit at all. He’d had plenty of people attempt to kill him in the past, but none of them had done so in such a creepy way. And that was completely disregarding the fact that it was _inside_ his workshop, one of the most highly secure places in the entire compound.

He was having absolutely none of it.

“Friday?” Tony called.

“Yes, Boss?” was the prompt reply.

He picked up the offensive note and waved it one of the cameras. “Wanna explain how this got here exactly? Because there are very few people with access into here and none of them would leave something like this here.” Tony paused. _Unless it was a prank_ , he thought. Glaring at Friday’s closest camera, he waved the sticky note a little harsher this time. “This isn’t from the Spiderling now, is it?”

“The note isn’t from Mini Boss, Boss.”

The even tone threw Tony off. Friday come a long way in her programming in the past couple of years, and while she could now fool basically everyone else into believing she was telling the truth, Tony could always pick up the small tells that gave away her lies. Like how her voice would dip back down into a more robotic lilt. But her voice didn’t do that this time, which meant she was telling the truth and that Tony was back to square one with how in the hell this note got inside.

Yet, even if it wasn’t Peter, then Friday had to have seen who was placed it. And if she didn’t… well, that meant Tony was going to go on a manhunt for whoever shutdown his girl.

“Who gave it to me then, Baby Girl.”

Friday’s tone was mischievous. “Someone trusted.”

Tony was instantly suspicious.

“You’re in on this, aren’t you?” He pointed mock accusingly at the camera. “I hope you remember your primary protocols.”

“Protect Boss by any means necessary, even from himself,” came the deadpan response.

“Hey!” Tony yelped. “I don’t need protection from myself!”

“Whatever you say, Boss.”

Grumbling about sassy A.I.s, he looked down at the note he had been absentmindedly fidgeting with, folding and unfolding the small square again and again. If Friday approved of whoever had written the frankly sinister sounding note, then they probably weren’t out to kill him. The thought left the engineer with zero ideas on what the note could mean. What game?

“Boss,” Friday’s voice dragged Tony out of his contemplating. “If you want, there’s another note on the couch.” 

Spinning on his heel, he spied another blue sticky note sitting on the worn-out cushions. A few quick paces brought him within reaching distance. Plucking the second note from where it rested, he read it out loud.

“Come on, Doll, it’ll be fun.”

Tony wrinkled his nose even as heat rose to his cheeks. Ok, so definitely not aiming to murder him. Even though if he didn’t have Friday’s round about way of telling him that, he would still believe these to be the lead up to some strange horror game. Even still, he decided to make sure.

“You’re sure this isn’t some weird plot to kill me, right?” Tony asked his A.I.

“Absolutely, Boss. But, if you’re not convinced, you could ask the bots.”

A crash came from the other side of the workshop at Friday’s words. Excited beeping followed before three bots came into view. Tony smiled fondly even as he was almost run down by an overly enthusiastic Dummy, Butterfingers and U stopping a little further back, still beeping at a rapid pace. Tony put a hand on Dummy’s strut, drumming his fingers against it.

“What’s got you all so riled up?”

Tony quickly ducked as Dummy’s arm swung over his head as the bot backed up.

“Jesus, take a man’s head off why don’t you?” He complained jokingly. The flash of blue in Dummy’s claw stopped him in his tracks. “You gotta be kidding me.” Reaching out, he snatches it out of the bot’s grip.

The note was slightly crumpled from being held by a clumsy bot for god knows how long, but it was still legible.

_‘Your bots are cute, but you’re cuter.’_

“What?” was Tony’s dumbfounded reaction. His confusion thickened as U nudged his hands, a box that Tony had missed held delicately within the claw. Hesitantly, he held his hand out and let the bot give it to him, vaguely noting that the bottom of the box was a different texture than what he was expecting. Opening it revealed an elegant leather bracelet. Black with the long, thin leather strap crossing over itself to create two loops. Holding it up to the light showed a small snowflake etched into the bracelet’s clasp. It was simple in a way that Tony could appreciate.

After struggling a bit, he managed to fasten the bracelet onto his wrist. It was a perfect fit. Not too tight, not too lose, and sophisticated looking enough that he could wear it with a suit as well as casually.

So maybe this note/gift giver wasn’t too bad. Even if Tony didn’t understand _why_ it was happening, he supposes that it is kind of nice to be on the other end of the gift giving.

All three bots nudging him put a stop to his appreciation of the surprise gift, all of them beeping impatiently. Tony put his hands up in surrender, still holding the now empty box.

“Jeez, what? What do you menaces want from me?”

 Friday was the one to answer.

“They want you to turn the box over, Boss.”

Making a noise of confusion, he brings the box down closer to his face and flips it over. There on the bottom is another note, the neat handwriting an exact match to the last three.

 _That explains the weird feel to it at least_ , Tony muses.

Carefully peeling the paper of the box, he reads the writing aloud at Butterfingers’ prompting.

“How good is your aim, Doll?”

What the fuck? His aim? What does that even mean???

Hearing movement, Tony looked up in time to catch U mimicking shooting his brothers, Dummy playing dead while Butterfingers zigzags across the workshop floor in an imitation of doing a serpentine, when it suddenly clicks.

“The shooting range!” he yells, already moving towards the exit.

Moving quickly throughout the compound had Tony slamming through the shooting range doors in record time, silently thankful that it’s empty. Looking around, he notices another of the blue sticky notes sitting on the gun rack. Tony reads it the second he’s got his hands on it.

_‘I’ve got my sights on you. <3’_

“This is singlehandedly the cheesiest thing that’s happened in my life,” he says to no one. A sudden realization came over him. Suddenly nervous, he addresses Friday. “There doesn’t happen to be more of these just laying around in common areas, is there?”

Friday’s voice was relaxed as she replied, “There is one more within the common room.” Tony nodded. He honestly thought there would be more laying around the entire compound but apparently not. “Though, you might wish to retrieve it, Boss. The Rogue Avengers found it approximately six minutes ago and are currently trying to, unsuccessfully I might add, open it.”

Tony groaned. Great, just what he needed. To walk into a room that contained a handful of what he was guessing partially, if not fully, frustrated Rogues.

“They haven’t just broken it yet?” He asked curiously. “I thought for sure they would’ve by now.”

Friday’s voice was smug as she said, “It was designed better than that, Boss. Have some faith.”

Striding towards the door, he points towards one of her cameras while saying, “You’re a little schemer now, Fri, darling. Pete’s been a terrible influence on you.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment, Boss,” she replied happily, bringing a smile to Tony’s face. A smile that lingered the entire trip to the common room, only falling away once he stepped in and could hear all the cussing that was happening in the room. The look of defeat on Steve’s face showed that he’d given up on reprimanding the rest of the Rogues for their language at this point.

But apparently sailor mouthed teammates did nothing to stop the Captain from attempting to open a decently sized metal box. At second glance, Tony noticed a determined spark in Steve’s eyes. Running his fingers through his hair, Tony sighed and stepped closer to the gathered group.

“What’s going on here?”

Everyone’s head snapped to him at his question. If he’d been anyone else, Tony probably would’ve been creeped the hell out by the synchronized head turn, but as it was, he had such a high tolerance for weird and creepy shit anymore that he wasn’t even fazed.

“We’re trying to get this stupid box open, but the damn thing is basically impenetrable,” came Clint’s highly agitated voice.

Tony sighed once more. “Did the thought that it wasn’t yours and that’s why it’s not opening?”

“And what makes you think that’ll open for you, huh?”

Seeing Clint cross his arms and puff out his chest made Tony roll his eyes. He had actually started to enjoy his day and those little notes (even if he _still_ didn’t understand why they suddenly showed up) before he was confronted with all this attitude. For all that everyone had slowly been getting better at working with each other, a quick glance showed all the Rogue’s with varying degrees of surly etched across their features.

Deciding that actions spoke louder than words, he nicked the shiny metal box right out of Steve’s hands, ignoring the gasp of surprise in favor of looking every inch of the box over. It took less than a minute for Tony to notice that the top – or at least what he thought was the top – had a slightly different sheen to it than the rest of the box.

Placing his hand on the strange sheen had the entire box lighting up in blue and tiny mechanical clicks sounding as it unlocked

Glaring at a camera, he said, “I know you had a hand in this.”

“I never said I didn’t, Boss.” Friday’s tone clearly expressed that if she could roll her eyes, she would’ve.

Rolling his own eyes, Tony turned back to the box and opened the lid only to gasp in shock.

Sitting there in black satin was an intricately designed [dagger](https://content.propertyroom.com/listings/sellers/seller1/images/origimgs/ornate-dagger-with-sheath-1_23122016343466383823.jpg) and sheath side by side. At roughly 10 inches long, the dagger was probably the prettiest piece of medieval weaponry that Tony had seen in a while, much less actually owned. Brushing over the cold metal with his fingers, he unconsciously gave a whispered “wow” in his amazement.

Wanda’s voice dragged him out of his admiring.

“Is that a note attached?”

Glancing to the inside of the lid confirmed that, yes indeed, there was another blue sticky note with writing. It was ripped out of the case before Tony could even make a move for it, the note now held within Clint’s grubby little fingers. The archer’s face becoming more and more pinched with every word he read. It was only with Steve’s prompting did the sharpshooter read it aloud, even if Clint’s voice was strained as he did.

“Such a shame that you didn’t have a knife of your own, Doll. You handle them so well.”

Clint threw the note back into the box. “Got yourself a secret admirer, I see. I hope they know what they’re getting into, Stark.”

The archer’s tone made Tony’s hackles raise, but he tamped down the urge to lash out. Besides, Clint mentioning a secret admirer had Tony realizing that was _exactly_ what was happening with all the notes and gifts.

So, he was a little slow on the uptake. Sue him, he isn’t used to this sort of thing.

Tony shrugged as he closed the case on the dagger and note. “I don’t see how that’s any of your problem, Barton.”

Clutching the case to his side, he made his way to the door before something escalated into a full-blown argument or fight, missing the heartbroken look Steve sent to the other super soldier in the room.

Once out of the room, Tony asked if there were any more notes laying around the compound.

“The last one’s in your room, Boss.”

Tony’s steps faltered, almost face planting onto the hallway floor. “My room?! Why there?”

Silence was his only answer, so he changed his path from where he was headed back to the workshop to his bedroom instead. First glance after opening the door showed nothing out of place.

Second glance is when Tony noticed the bouquet of flowers and cute basket filled with bags of chocolates sitting on his dresser off to the side. Upon closer inspection, he realized that the chocolates were those dark chocolate ones in the shape of tiny small spheres and filled with fruit flavors in the middle. They were some of his favorite.

It also showed that the final note was stuck to the handle of the basket. It read, ‘ _Be my valentine, Doll?’_

The neat script made Tony’s brain go offline and it took a few long seconds for it to reboot.

“Friday,” he said hurriedly, “What’s today’s date?”

“February 14th, Boss,” was her cheery reply.

Holy _shit._

Everything suddenly made so much more sense, all the way from the notes and presents to why Clint was so prickly earlier.

Damn, he really forgot today was technically a holiday. But, to be fair, he didn’t really expect to celebrate it this year since him and Pepper had broken up a while back, and that he was pretty sure his current crush/interest/star-of-every-recent-and-quite-a-few-past wet dreams wasn’t going to go anywhere, so he’d erased the thought of the small hallmark holiday from his list of important events.

That was a line of thought that only led to some explosive science binges and he did not need Rhodey or Pepper scolding him for reckless behavior just right now, so with a shake of his head, he banished everything but the note.

“Friday, light of my life, fruit of my genius, who’s the crazy person who thinks me being their valentine is a good idea?”

The A.I.s voice was far too innocent as she said, “I don’t know, Boss.”

“Friday…”

The innocent act was up in an instant, only to be replaced with strong conviction. “Someone vetted and approved by both Peter and I.”

Tony buried his face in his hands. “Unbelievable. My own kids plotting against me, playing some form of matchmaker.” Heaving a sigh, he looked tiredly towards Friday. “Tell them that I say ‘No’ and that they don’t need level of crazy in their life.”

“Absolutely not, Boss.”

Well that was new. He’d never heard his baby girl so affronted before.

“Why not?”

“Because you don’t even know who sent them!” she vehemently says.

Wearily, he set the dagger’s case on his bed before tucking his hands into his pant’s pockets. “And I’m guessing you won’t let me out of this until I either figure it out or meet them, huh?”

“That’s right, Boss.”

Tony sighed.

“Can I at least get a hint?”

“No,” the A.I. petulantly sniffed, “The answer is already on one of the gifts.”

On one of the gifts? What did that mean?

Reopening the dagger, Tony looked over every millimeter of the weapon and sheath with a critical eye, only to find nothing out of the ordinary and a bigger appreciation for the stunning design of the entire thing. Moving on the flowers and basket, he turned the basket entirely upside down. Nothing. Even carefully checking each individual flower and even the vase they came in gave him zero ideas on who the sender is.

He was starting to get frustrated.

“Are you sure I can’t get even one measly little hint?” he implored.

“The only hint I’ll give, Boss, is that you missed a gift.”

Soft leather sliding against his wrist drove Friday’s hint home. The bracelet. God, Tony was an absolute idiot today.

Internally berating himself for forgetting the piece of jewelry, he quickly undid the clasp. Scanning the small item only revealed the snowflake he’d seen before. Glaring at the camera in the corner, he pointed accusingly at it.

“Don’t tell me this is it because what kind of hint is a snowfla— Oh, oh shit. A snowflake. I’m a fucking _dumbass_.” A small flicker of hope curled in Tony’s chest. “Is this for real? Friday, please tell me this isn’t a joke.”

Friday’s reply is smug. “Why don’t you go check, Boss? Mr. Barnes is currently in the gym.”

Tony didn’t bother putting the bracelet back on, just clutched it in his hand as he practically ran across the compound, almost slamming into Sam as the man exited the kitchen.

Stopping in front of the gym doors, Tony took a few moments to get his breathing under control, only for to be for naught as the sight of one James Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes with his hair up in a messy bun, metal arm out in the open, and skin glistening with sweat punched the air right out of Tony’s lungs.

“Goddamn.”

A deep chuckle had Tony’s gaze snapping from where he’d been tracking a drop of sweat as it glides down the ex-assassin’s throat and up to the man’s mirth filled eyes.

“Like what you see, Doll?”

“ _Fuck_ ,” was Tony’s elegant response, dragging more amused laughter from the super soldier.

“We could,” the man drawled, Brooklyn accent thick, “But you never asked my question, now did you?”

Tony’s brain was short-circuiting a lot today, because question? What question?

Blue sticky notes came to mind. Ahh, that question.

Instead of answering, Tony asked two questions of his own, holding up a finger after each. “First, how? Second, you mean it?”

Bucky shrugged. “Peter and Friday helped a lot, especially with making the fancy dagger box and placing the notes in places in the non-accessible rooms.” The ex-Hydra asset’s expression turned serious. “And I meant all of it. The notes, gifts,” he nodded towards the bracelet hanging from Tony’s clenched fist, “and taking you out somewhere nice if you’ll let me.”

Tony sucked in a breath through his teeth, caught off guard by the genuine undertone to the confession. Looking between the bracelet in his hand and hopeful blue eyes, he held the bracelet out, ignoring how his body screamed in protest as he caught a flash of disappointment in those bright eyes. “Only if you stop forcing yourself to use that fake Brooklyn accent, no matter how good it is or how much it makes me feel like swooning.”

A sharp smile cut across the man’s face, leering eyes sending a shiver down Tony’s spine, voice layered with a Russian timbre. “I’ll save it for special occasions then, котёнок.”

“Hell yes,” Tony breathed.

The smile took a more seductive curve. “So, I’ll take that as a yes, да?”

Tony just nodded as the super soldier stepped closer, closing the distance by gently grasping the wrist of the bracelet holding hand. “Good.”

A sharp tug to his wrist had Tony being pressed bodily against a firm chest, fingers carding through the engineer’s hair to pull his head back. Tony had barely enough time to register the heady smell of gun oil, sweat, and something darker before lips were on his own.

Overwhelmed, Tony had no hope in gaining control over the kiss from the beginning, but more so when he allowed access to the probing tongue. Moans escaped his throat unnoticed by Tony himself, too lost in the hazy fog of pleasure that seemed to coat his brain.

When the kiss was finally broke, Tony was panting, gaining enough control to breathlessly whisper, “Damn, Snowflake, I think you just ruined me for anyone else with just one kiss.” Tony had never felt this good from just one kiss before.

Today was just full of surprises.

An fond, if not slightly exasperated sigh, ruffled Tony’s hair. “Really?”

Tony kneaded the shoulders under his fingers that he had grabbed during that frankly mind-blowing kiss, bracelet still within his hold even if Tony wasn’t quite sure how. “You did it to yourself. I wasn’t the one to put the cute little snowflake on my bracelet.”

Being pulled back from the warm body he was pressed against made Tony whine — even if he would deny it to his dying day— but he was no match for super soldier strength. He stopped when said bracelet was removed from his grasp on it and clasped around his wrist again.

“I guess I can live with it,” was spoken as arms wrapped around Tony’s waist. “As long as you call me James when it really counts.”

The leer directed towards Tony drove the meaning home.

Wrapping his arms around the super soldier’s neck, Tony smiled, seduction layered under innocence.

“I’ll call you whatever you want, Winter Wonderland. Just say the word.”

~~~

A week later had Tony almost suffocating via an ecstatic mutant teen slamming into him for a bone-crushing hug. James just laughed as he held up both of the geniuses where they were leaning against him in a tangle of limbs, Peter’s excited, rapid fire babble drowning out the movie the two Avengers had been watching.

Tony just relaxed into the warmth radiating around him, fond smile spreading across his face as he listened to the teen go on about how his plan had worked.

If this is what true happiness felt like, then Tony never wanted it to end.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Valentine's Day!!  
> whether you have a s/o or not, i still hope you find some enjoyment out of the day, even if it's just sitting back and relaxing for a few minutes
> 
>  
> 
> [tumblr](http://karumasa.tumblr.com)


End file.
